I’m glad I decided to re-read the novels I’ve acquired by Louise Candlish. She’s an excellent writer, with good characterisation and plots that can be quite tense in places. I’ve found some of her more recent books a tad too stressful, but her earlier ones were less so. The one I’ve just finished rereading is ‘The Disappearance of Emily Marr’, which I last read in 2015. 
(Amazon UK link)
I’d have thought, since it was only eight years ago, I might have remembered something about the story, but I didn’t. I had completely forgotten the two main characters, too. Tabby and Emily are two young women whose stories run alongside each other. The difference is that Tabby’s is told in the third person, while Emily’s, as we learn fairly quickly, is her attempt to write out her story so she doesn’t forget any details.
They meet when Tabby, after a broken relationship in France, down to her last few euros, is able to get access to a small house, tucked away in a side street of the island of Ré. She hopes the resident might have gone away, but is discovered by someone calling herself Emmie. She clearly has secrets and spends a lot of time on her laptop. She’s quite reclusive, and worried about being discovered. Tabby is sociable and friendly, and wants to talk about her broken heart, but Emmie is much more private.
Much of the story takes place on Ré, where Tabby is invited to stay if she pays some rent. Emmy is working as a cleaner for holiday homes, and gets Tabby a job too - and they mostly get along amicably. Tabby tries to ask questions and persuade Emmie to go out, but each time realises she needs to back off or risk alienating her new friend.
As Emily’s story unfolds, it becomes more tense… at times I wanted to keep reading it, rather than going back to Tabby’s story of what’s happening in Ré. But the alternating viewpoints work well, and I found myself liking both of the women despite them both having some moral failings which are explored in some depth (though, thankfully, not in any detail). At first I sympathised more with Emmie, irritated by Tabby’s attempts to probe. But gradually Emmie becomes more irrational…
I’m surprised that I had not remembered what happened after that, although there’s a hint on the back that something unexpected takes place. I was startled when the truth is revealed - just as startled as I must have been the first time I read it.
The book is very well-written, with some action and some more insightful passages. Some important modern issues are covered, from the power of social media through to the tragedy of dementia, and other mental illnesses. Adulterous relationships are not condemned, but possible - and believable - consequences are shown alongside the thoughtlessness, in some cases, of people involved in them.
My only disappointment in this book was that the ending is abrupt leaving open threads. But in Googling to find out if anyone had come up with anything, I discovered that the author has now written an epilogue. She wanted people to buy the updated version of the book that includes it; I wasn’t going to do that, but discovered the Kindle edition available for just 99p on Amazon UK. So I downloaded it, and went straight to the end. I didn’t particularly like the ending, but it does at least give closure, and some encouragement for the future.
Definitely recommended if you like thought-provoking women’s fiction with a bit of a punch.
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